Dundee Utd 2
Hearts 1
League (Premier Division)

Manager's Programme Notes

Good evening and welcome back to Tannadice for another vital occasion tonight when Hearts are our visitors. Despite that disappointment of last Saturday when we suffered a 2-1 home defeat by Rangers, all is far from being lost on the title trail — which makes tonight's game yet another opportunity to add to that points lead we hold at the head of the table. Everyone here at the club was absolutely sick after the Rangers game, when knowing full well that the side played below the form standard of which they are capable. And yet I feel within myself that despite our failings we could have grabbed a share of the vital points although it is well known how difl&cult it is to overcome the members of the Old Firm in one-off situations such as last Saturday. But make no mistake about it both Rangers and Celtic are destined to lose points between now and the end of the season.

Equally so, we simply cannot afford to do so in our remaining three games and must therefore aim for the maximum and hope for some assistance elsewhere to aid our championship hopes. The reason for the weekend's disappointment was once again there for all to see and I feel that it is the ideal moment to point out the tremendous credit due the players for their achievements this season. They were forced, even before a ball had been kicked this term, to see two of our front runners lost to the club. They applied themselves superbly to those setbacks, and you can see the result. However, a situation at any club whereby just three players have challenged for the three positions up front illustrates our shortcomings. These players undoubtedly have the hardest jobs in the game nowadays and it has been really encouraging to see the advance made by Dave Dodds since he stepped up to full-time football. Tonight's game against Hearts will be far from easy despite the Tynecastle club's recent disappointments. In fact I see it as being every bit as difficult for us as Saturday's trip to Parkhead to meet Celtic — but in an entirely different sense. We continue to require your vocal backing — so let's hear it from the terracings.